The Stealth Affair
by avrovulcan
Summary: A THRUSH agent has been caught trying to take some secret documents. Rebecca, April and Mark have been sent to California to find out what he was after. Napoleon and Illya have been sent to Germany to try and find out what he needs the documents for. They all need to work together to stop THRUSH's latest plan.
1. Chapter 1

**The Stealth Affair**

_Act 1_

Five Section 2 agents were waiting for Mr Waverly; the Chief of UNCLE New York. They were his top agents and were in constant demand.

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin were sat at the table along with Mark Slate while April Dancer and Rebecca Andrews were stood by the window looking out across the New York cityscape discussing their latest shopping trip.

"I'm sure those two only live to shop!" Mark commented to Illya and Napoleon.

Illya grinned as he looked over to the two female agents.

"I think the thought of shopping when they return from missions is one of the only things that keeps them alive!"

The door opened as The Old Man entered.

"Ah, good, you are all here, thank you."

Immediately April and Rebecca sat in their places at the round table, April next to Mark and Rebecca next to Illya.

Mr Waverly put the folders he was carrying on the table and turned it so they stopped in front of his agents. Napoleon opened up the folder and a photograph of a good looking blond haired man was on the top.

Mr Waverly continued "This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Konrad Reinhardt, he is a German scientist specialising in aeronautics and is a known THRUSH operative. He doesn't usually venture far from his native Germany."

"What is our interest in him?" Napoleon enquired.

"At a guess, with what Mr Waverly has just said, I would say that he is not in Germany at the present time" Illya ventured.

"You are correct in your assumption, Mr Kuryakin; he is, at the moment, in Los Angeles. What we don't know is why."

"And we are to find out why?"

"Well, not you personally, Mr Kuryakin, but Miss Andrews is. We have him as a, shall we say 'guest', at Edwards Air Force Base"

"How has he come to be our 'guest'?" Mark asked.

"That is the interesting bit Mr Slate; he was caught around the Lockheed Advanced Development Programmes site."

"Oh, that is interesting, that's our top aviation research and development centre." Remarked April.

"Also known as the Skunkworks" added Illya.

"Yes, that is why I am sending Miss Andrews to California along with Miss Dancer and Mr Slate. Miss Andrews I want you to find out what he is doing over here and when you do, to make sure that you three stop whatever it is that he was planning."

The Old Man turned to Napoleon and Illya "Mr Solo, Mr Kuryakin, I want you to fly out to Germany and find out what you can about what Mr Reinhardt's current project is. His last known whereabouts in Germany, before he was spotted in Los Angeles, was Leipheim."

Napoleon pondered a moment "Hmm, Leipheim, If I'm right isn't there a German military airbase there?"

"Yes, there is, there was also an aircraft production facility there. They built Messerschmitt transport aircraft and the first jet fighter there."

Napoleon was always amazed at the things that Illya knew about, he presumed it was due to the Russian always reading whenever he had the time. That was the difference between them: Napoleon's spare time was spent entertaining the opposite sex; Illya's was reading and listening to his Jazz music, usually both at the same time!

"Thank you Mr Kuryakin. I want you and Mr Solo to find out what you can and liaise with Miss Andrews and her team. And likewise with you Miss Andrews, please keep Mr Solo and Mr Kuryakin informed on your findings."

"Yes, sir. When do we leave?"

"You will all leave tomorrow morning. Miss Andrews,Miss Dancer and Mr Slate I have arranged transport for you to Edwards Air Force Base, our 'guest' is being held there and it is close to the Lockheed site."

"Mr Solo, Mr Kuryakin, you are booked on a flight to Munich, Miss Rodgers has your tickets. A car has been arranged for you once you get there."

Mr Waverly looked pointedly at his two agents

"And please try not to do your usual good job in destroying it."

Napoleon threw a look at his partner and smirked, it was nearly always Illya that did the driving. Illya returned the smirk with an icy glare.

"Thank you Ladies, Gentlemen, you are dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

_Act 2_

The agents went to their offices after the dismissal. Illya and Napoleon shared an office a few doors down from The Old Man's suite of rooms, while April and Marks was at the far end of the corridor. Rebecca's was on the floor below, although she rarely used it. She tended to spend her time in either Illya and Napoleons or April and Marks offices.

Rebecca was with April and Mark discussing their part of the mission. Rebecca would interrogate Mr Reinhardt and they would also go to the Lockheed Skunkworks and see if they could find out where he had been and what he had been doing.

Rebecca sighed "Here we go again, I wonder how many bruises we'll be coming back with this time!"

"I know, it's so hard trying to find clothes that don't clash with their changing colours, and I'm so fed up with black!" said April

Rebecca laughed "Well, I think we have done about as much as we can do here, I'm going to make the most of our last night in a comfortable bed, there's no telling when I'll be back in it again!"

On the way out, Rebecca stopped by Napoleon and Illya's office, she sat on the edge of Illya's side of the desk.

"How are you two getting on with your plans?"

"Just adding a few last ideas, we don't have a lot of information on the airfield."

"Yes, that is true, but it does still look like it has production facilities there, but whether they are in use is unknown." Added Illya

"You can bet if it's under THRUSH influence, something will be in production there." Said Rebecca

"The town is quite closely linked with the airfield, if we can find someone there who would be willing to tell us anything, it would help."

Illya looked at his partner and smirked "I'm sure with your persuasive skills you will find an unsuspecting member of the fairer sex to succumb to your charms!"

Rebecca laughed at Napoleons expression "I can't help it if I've got the boyish charms that girls fall for!"

"yes, but it's funny how you only go for the pretty ones!"

"Illya, tovarisch, as I've said before: You've either got it or you haven't and I've got it, you're only jealous!"

"Ha, far from it Napoleon, you know what girls are like around me. I just choose wisely and stay with my choice!" he said, winking at Rebecca which made her laugh.

"You two will just have to agree to disagree. I'm going to love you and leave you for a bit, are we having dinner later?" She looked to Illya "You don't know when you're going to be able to fill that bottomless pit you call a stomach again!"

Illya grinned, "Yes, we've booked a table for the three of us at 8, Lizzie's on duty tonight."

It was Napoleons turn to smirk, "It's a buffet meal, all you can eat for one price, it's the only way I can afford to feed my Partner!"

Illya rolled his eyes "I can't help it if I've got a healthy appetite!"

With that, Rebecca kissed them both on the cheek.

"I don't know why I love the pair of you so much, but I do!"

"Well, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it!" April said as she passed their open door

"Hey, we're not that bad!" Illya and Napoleon said together.

"How do you know that, you don't see things the way us women do!" said April's retreating voice.

"I'll see you at 8 then." And Rebecca left the two men to their own thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

_Act 3_

Rebecca returned to the apartment and had a shower. She felt like making a special effort for tonight, it would be a while before she would be able to wear anything nice. She liked wearing a dress, but didn't very often have the opportunity to do so as being a Section 2 agent she was more often in tops and trousers, the only exception was if she was working in the office, where she would wear a skirt.

In her latest shopping trip with April, she had seen and fell in love with a long black silk and lace dress, she had tried it on and it fit her perfectly. April had persuaded her to buy it knowing how good she had looked in it.

She took the dress out from its wrappings, put it on and admired the woman reflected in the mirror, April was right, it did suit her, she couldn't wait to see the reaction she would get when she met her two friends at the restaurant, one of which was more than just a friend.

She finished getting ready and made her way out the apartment, setting the alarms and security as she left. The restaurant wasn't far away and there would be plenty of UNCLE agents around at that time of the evening so she decided to walk to the restaurant enjoying the cool night air.

The two agents were already sat at the table waiting for Rebecca to arrive. They had both showered and changed at HQ as they had left it too late to return home, they were all planning to enjoy their last evening before leaving on their assignment in the morning, they always made the most of it as they knew at least one of them would probably not return in the same state of fitness as they left.

A couple of wolf whistles caught their attention as a stunning woman stepped through the door, Napoleon nudged Illya's elbow, making him spill his vodka, as they both looked towards the doorway, the growl directed at his partner faded as he took in this stunning woman he could see walking over to their table followed by stares of envy from the other patrons in the restaurant.

Napoleon got up and pulled a chair out for Rebecca with his usual charm and grace

"Don't you brush up nice!"

He glanced over to his partner who wasn't normally so taken aback.

"Illya, stop drooling!"

Illya couldn't stop looking at this beauty sat next to him; he had never seen her look so stunning.

"You look lovely, I think you should wear a dress more often _ljubóvnik_(lover)!"

He was so used to seeing her in trousers and blouses that seeing her in a dress had taken him aback, he didn't think that he had ever seen her wear one, well not like this one anyway, and couldn't wait to take her in his arms.

It was at times like these that Napoleon couldn't believe what Illya had done to win this woman or should it be Rebecca won him? His normally dour partner shunned women like the plague, but with Rebecca it was like she had cast a spell on him.

The relationship started a bit stormy at first, Illya resented her being brought in to work on an assignment with them and pointedly refused to acknowledge her or speak to her if he could help it, he assumed that she would be like most women and be a hindrance, even though they had worked with April many times and knew that some women were quite capable of fending for themselves.

Rebecca had won him round when she demonstrated her ability to hold her own when they got ambushed by a large number of THRUSH and proved that she was almost as good a shot and as resourceful as the Russian himself, it also pleased him no end when she didn't succumb to his partners charms like most women, but what really got him to take note was the fact that she showed an interest in working with explosives, by the end of the two week long assignment Illya was quite taken with her and was disappointed when she had to leave.

Napoleon also noticed that she was as stubborn as his partner and also had the annoying habit of saying she was fine when she quite clearly wasn't. It often made him wonder if she had some Russian in her history somewhere.

A few months later they had to work together again, this time they were informed that she was, in fact, an interrogator; the only female one in UNCLE and an unusual one at that with a very good success rate. During the assignment, Illya and Rebecca's relationship progressed and Napoleon was happy that the Russian had finally found some happiness.

Mr Waverly noticed that these two agents were becoming an item, he worried about the implications of a relationship between them and had spoken to Napoleon about it, wanting to make sure that the assignments were not being affected by it. Napoleon had, in fact, reported the opposite, they seemed to go better because of it. In the end The Old Man has requested that Rebecca be a permanent fixture at New York HQ and, unusually, allowed the relationship to blossom with his blessing. He was also pleased that the Russian, who he thought of as a son, was a happier person. Though most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference Napoleon and The Old Man could!

"Are we going to get something to eat then? I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry and I know at least one of you is starving!"

Laughing, she took Illya's hand and pulled him to the buffet. They walked over with his arm around her waist deep in conversation while they waited their turn to choose what they wanted from the buffet. Napoleon waited until they came back before going himself to give them some time together.

When they returned, Illya's plate was piled high and Rebecca had a few mouthfuls, how did she survive on so little? Napoleon wondered. By the time Rebecca had finished her plate, Illya was already halfway through his second helping

"Tovarisch, where do you put it all?"

Illya grinned while he finished his last mouthful. "I think I'm full now!" then he spied dessert. "Except for pudding!"

He got up to help himself to some of the cakes on offer while both Rebecca and Napoleon groaned and shook their heads.

The restaurant had a dance floor and several people were already dancing. The three agents sat and watched the dancers while Illya finished eating. Rebecca loved to dance and asked Illya if he would join her, the Russian didn't like dancing very much and declined, he would much rather watch Rebecca dance, not to be defeated she asked Napoleon who was delighted to partner her and swept her to the dance floor.

Illya enjoyed watching his two closest friends laughing and enjoying themselves on the dance floor, it was a rare occasion where the agents could relax and enjoy themselves without having to worry about looking over their shoulder all the time.

A slow dance started and he watched as his partner took his girlfriend in his arms and held her close while they moved around the dance floor, Rebecca's head resting against Napoleons chest. Most men would feel uncomfortable seeing such intimacy between their girlfriend and best friend, but with Section 2 agents, they always depended on each other for their lives so friendship and trust ran deep. Illya knew that Napoleon would make no moves on Rebecca.

The slow dance ended and a faster one started and they separated and danced to the new song while Illya drank his vodka, content to be watching. When the song finished, the two dancers returned to the table laughing. Rebecca took a few sips of her wine, feeling relaxed and happy, Napoleon sipped his scotch, and the trio talked and laughed for a while, enjoying themselves.

Finally as the night was ending the last slow dance started, Rebecca got up and took Illya's hand trying to get him to have a dance with her, he tried to refuse, but Rebecca was having none of it

"Look Kuryakin, that glare will not work on me! It's a slow dance, even your two left feet can cope with that, just hold me close and let the music guide you!"

The Russian sighed knowing he had gotten away with it most of the night and that his lover wouldn't take no for an answer so he followed her to the dance floor. He took her in his arms and she rested her head on his chest, he could smell her perfume so he rested his head against her hair breathing in the scent and closed his eyes enjoying the moment. All too soon the dance ended and it was time to go home.

They all walked back to the apartment block, Napoleon had a penthouse suite at the top, while Illya and Rebecca shared a smaller apartment a few floors down. They came and went from each other's apartments all the time. Napoleon said goodnight to the two lovers and went up to his own apartment leaving them to themselves, he didn't think that they would want his company tonight, even though they invited him in for a drink.

His own current girlfriend, Lizzie was on duty tonight and wouldn't be back until late, she was a nurse in Medical, which is where Napoleon had met her while he was recovering from some injuries sustained from an assignment. He was used to falling asleep on his own, but waking up with her beside him. She knew he was leaving tomorrow and would make sure that she saw him before he left in the morning if she could.

Napoleon was lucky, in that Lizzie very rarely had to leave New York, so was always around when he was and more often than not tending his injuries in Medical when he came back, she was the only reason staying in Medical was marginally bearable!

It was harder on Illya and Rebecca, with them both being Section 2 they were quite often apart for long periods, they did work together on occasion, but more often than not they were on separate missions so their time spent together was treasured all the more and that's what the pair were doing right now he knew.

Illya and Rebecca were lying on the sofa in their apartment, they had both kicked off their shoes and they were giggling as Rebecca tried to remove his socks with her bare feet. After succeeding she snuggled up to Illya, her head resting on his shoulder while the Russian stroked her hair. They lay there for a while just enjoying each other's company, then Rebecca shifted slightly and slowly undone the buttons of Illya's shirt, ran her fingers across his chest and kissed the hollow of his neck, Illya lifted her chin up and kissed her deeply on the lips. Very few people saw the tender and gentle side of the icy Russian, no one would believe he was capable of tenderness, but he had demonstrated that side of his personality many times with Rebecca.

Rebecca answered his kiss just as hungrily, soon they were exploring each other's bodies, Illya ran his fingers across her back, his sensitive fingers feeling the scars there, there were so many of them which saddened him, but he knew that his back and chest were also scarred just as much, he traced them with his fingers which made Rebecca moan with pleasure, she explored his body gently with her fingertips, and followed his scars down to his belly.

He shifted from under her and stood up, taking her hand he pulled her up from the sofa.

"I need you _ljubóvnik_(lover)!" he said breathlessly as he pulled her to the bedroom.

They fell onto the bed, after removing their underwear, Rebecca lying on her back while Illya kissed her from her toes to her mouth, his hands lightly caressing her as he worked his way up, sending ripples of pleasure along her body. He couldn't wait any longer and he was soon bringing them both to a climax.

He lay there for a while, drinking her in, he stroked a lock of hair from her eyes and kissed her gently.

"I love you so much, Becca."

They lay there holding each other exhausted, but content. Eventually Illya rolled onto his back, putting his arm out and pulling Rebecca close to him, he always looked forward to their lovemaking, with Rebecca it was truly love.

Sometimes, although very rarely (It was normally Napoleon), he had to seduce a female as part of a mission and he always felt a bit guilty when he had to have sex with them, but it was only sex, making love was reserved for Rebecca only and he always put his full energies to it. Unlike Napoleon, he always waited until he was with Rebecca for release.

He knew when Rebecca had fallen asleep, still snuggled in his arms, her head on his chest and her hand around his waist. Sighing with contentment he kissed her and pulled her closer before closing his own eyes and instantly falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_Act 4_

Rebecca woke first still nestled in Illya's arms and took the chance to just enjoy the feel of his warm body next to hers, she watched him while he slept, he looked so peaceful. After a while one blue eye opened slightly looking at Rebecca watching him

"What?"

"Nothing, just thinking how nice and cosy we are."

"Mmm, the calm before the inevitable storm, especially where Napoleon is concerned."

"Yes, he does seem to attract trouble, usually the kind of trouble that ends up with you in Medical!"

"Do not remind me, I might just decide to kidnap you, stay here and send him on his own. Thinking about it, that would not work either, I would only have to go and rescue him."

"And still end up in Medical!" Rebecca finished "we had better get moving. It wouldn't do for our CEO to come in and find us still in bed!"

"I suppose you are right." The Russian replied reluctantly.

With mischief in his eyes he got up from the bed, pulled the bedclothes off and tipped the mattress up so that Rebecca was unceremoniously dumped on the floor and made a quick beeline for the bathroom laughing.

"KURYAKIN! I'll get you for that, just you wait!" and she went to get dressed.

They had just finished breakfast and were getting ready to leave when Napoleon let himself in.

"You two lovebirds ready? Come on, it's time to go April and Mark will see us at the airport"

They left the apartment after securing it and took an UNCLE taxi to the airport. "I hope you have the tickets Napoleon."

Napoleon looked at his partner. "I thought you had them."

"No, I told you before we left to get the tickets from Lisa when you went to see The Old Man."

"No, I distinctly remember you saying that you were going to collect them."

Illya groaned "Oh, Napoleon, why can you never get things right?"

Napoleon winked at Rebecca who was sat between them and showed her the tickets sitting safely in his inside jacket pocket. Never one to miss winding his partner up.

"No, partner mine, it was definitely left to you. Oh, hang on, there seems to be something in my pocket here" patting his jacket.

Illya glared at his partner and growled "It's a good job that I cannot get to you otherwise we wouldn't need your ticket!"

Rebecca laughed at the pair of them. "Save it for the enemy boys!"

They arrived at the airport and saw April and Mark waiting for them. They got out of the taxi thanking the driver and walked over to them exchanging greetings while they walked to the departure hall.

They stood by the window watching the aircraft and discussing the final details of their plans, Rebecca and Illya now not lovers but agents. Unless you knew what to look for no-one would know the relationship between them, such was their professionalism.

They started to work out contact times, knowing that there would be five hours difference between the two groups

"Illya, our flight leaves in half hour at 10.30 and we should arrive in Munich at about 23.30 their time."

"I am going to miss dinner!" Illya complained with a grin while everyone else groaned.

"They will feed you on the flight Illya, though I admit, most likely not enough to fill you." Said Rebecca " Mr Waverly said that a flight had been arranged to take us to Edwards, so I presume it will be military, though I don't see anything military out there yet."

"It'll be about an hours flight anyway." Said Mark.

"Yes, we should be able to find a few things out before you land in Germany, assuming our 'guest' co-operates."

"I don't think he'll have much choice once Rebecca starts, April." Grinned Napoleon "I don't think THRUSH has worked out how our star interrogator works yet."

"Miss Andrews?" A military uniformed airman asked the group.

"Yes, I'm Rebecca Andrews."

"Ma'am, I have instructions to escort you, Miss Dancer and Mr Slate to Edwards Air force Base."

"Thank you, please excuse me, but do you have identification?"

Illya smiled, glad that his lover was taking no chances, not many would think to question a military uniformed person who was expected.

"Er, yes Ma'am, I am First Lieutenant Henderson, I have a sealed letter here for you from Lieutenant Colonel Hayes."

Rebecca took the letter and examined the seal; it was a special UNCLE seal and was intact. She opened it and read the inside. It included an identification picture of Lieutenant Henderson and the coded sentence from Mr Waverly to prove the letters authenticity. She passed it to Napoleon for him to double check and he nodded.

"Ah, this seems all in order thank you Lieutenant." And he handed it back to Rebecca.

"Napoleon, we will contact you with anything we find out. You'll be five hours ahead of us so we'll contact you tomorrow morning, at 13.00 your time." and looking at Illya "you'll probably be feeding your partner again by then!"

Illya gave her a sour look, and then gave her the slightest wink and smile.

Rebecca, Mark and April then followed the Lieutenant to the waiting aircraft.

Napoleon and Illya watched them leave. Napoleon glanced at his partner and could see the sparkle in his eyes and the smile he was trying to hide as he watched Rebecca walking away. "Tovarisch, You are a bad man!"

Illya grinned "Napoleon, I am sure I do not know what you mean!"

They saw the military jet taxi out and watched it take off "Well, I wonder what they will find out."

"We will know tomorrow, tovarisch." And They waited for their flight to be called.


	5. Chapter 5

_Act 5_

The flight to Edwards was uneventful and the young Lieutenant was a likeable person. He was quite knowledgeable about the areas they would be working in. Rebecca decided to see if they could commandeer him while they were there.

Once they landed they were shown to the base commander Lieutenant Colonel Hays' office.

The commander stood and shook their hands

"Ahh, Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Edwards, whatever I can do to help, please just ask."

"Thank you Lieutenant Colonel, I am Rebecca Andrews and these are my colleagues April Dancer and Mark Slate. I take it that Mr Waverly has briefed you regarding our assignment."

Rebecca hoped that the military personnel here would be as willing to co-operate at they seemed, most times the US Military didn't like UNCLE 'interfering' with their business. But usually when they found out that THRUSH was involved, they knew UNCLE had to be called in whether they liked it or not.

"Yes, he has, when do you want to speak with the prisoner?"

The officer couldn't believe that they had been sent this woman; he really couldn't see how she would be able to get any information from the prisoner at all. He always thought that UNCLE was a strange organisation, although, unlike most of his counterparts, he did recognise the need for them at times.

He would help them with their investigation if only to get his base back to normal as quickly as possible. Having these two good-looking women roaming around the place was sure to cause some trouble.

"In a moment, sir. I would like to know where he was found first please."

The officer called in Lieutenant Henderson and asked him to bring in a map of the area around the Lockheed installation.

"He was found trying to enter the offices at the northern end of the facility here." And he pointed to an area on the maps by a large white building.

"Do you know what was in the offices that he could have been after?" asked Mark

"We don't know what exactly he was after, but there are top secret files for prototype aircraft in those offices." Answered the commander.

"Hmm, knowing THRUSH, they have most likely found out something interesting that's in the pipeline and wants to know more."

"Yes, April, I was thinking along the same lines, we know only too well that they would rather steal other people's ideas rather than come up with their own, he must be working with someone here, we need to find out who." Rebecca looked to Hayes "Do you know how long he has been out here and if he has had any contact with anyone in this area?"

"No, we don't know when he came and haven't seen him with anyone that I know of. The first time I'd seen him was when he was caught and brought here. When we found out he was linked to THRUSH we contacted your organisation."

"OK, I'd like to see our 'guest' and see what he can tell us now please." Rebecca waited for Lieutenant Colonel Hays to show them to the prisoner.

The officer didn't believe that Rebecca would find anything out from the THRUSH man, he had thought that UNCLE would have sent a male interrogator, he knew that UNCLE didn't rough up their prisoners, but at least a male agent would act and look more menacing then a female.

Rebecca was shown to the cell where Konrad Reinhardt was being kept. It was in a small block at the opposite end of the building. She looked in the room at him and he looked back at her with contempt. Rebecca turned to the commander.

"I would appreciate it if we could be left alone please."

"Ok, if you are sure you can handle him, I can leave one of my lieutenants with you just in case?"

"No that won't be necessary, thank you. We are quite capable of taking care of ourselves."

Hayes nodded and went to leave the cells

"Err, Lieutenant Colonel?" He turned back towards Rebecca. "Do you have any cameras active in this area?"

He pointed out several "Yes, they are recording when the light is on."

Rebecca looked at the cameras and could see that the red light was on on each of the cameras.

"Can you isolate them? I would like all of them turned off except this one by the entrance. We can then signal you when we are ready to leave."

"Yes, we can do that, can I ask why?"

April and Mark looked to Rebecca, she nodded slightly. "We have a highly trained interrogator and we don't like the method that is used to be known. As yet, no-one outside our organisation and only a few within it knows how it is done."

"And we want to keep it that way." Finished Rebecca.

The commander nodded gave Rebecca the cell key and left the area. The three agents waited until they saw the lights go out on all the cameras except the one they indicated before they moved to Konrad's cell.

Rebecca gave Mark the key and he opened the door, then they all entered the room. Immediately on entering Konrad ran at the agents, he had somehow made a sharp blade and mistakenly thinking that because two of the agents were women, they would be easy to deal with, he lashed out as he charged, caught April on the arm drawing blood with the blade in his right hand and head-butted Rebecca in the stomach, the blow momentarily stunning her and knocking her backwards. Running into Rebecca had slowed the THRUSH and Mark quickly reached him and grabbed his right wrist very tightly making him drop the blade and swinging the prisoner around, punched him in the stomach. The German fell to his knees, winded, just the other side of his cell door. He was put back into the cell and Rebecca and Mark stood guard over him.

"You'll be sorry you did that. You've messed with the wrong two women" Mark said looking to his partner examining the cut to her arm in the passageway "You alright April?"

"Yes, it's only a scratch, which is more than I would do to him if I was allowed to."

Rebecca grinned at Mark and looked to Konrad

"Even we don't like to be in the same room with April when she's angry!"

"And you've just made her angry, mate." Mark looked over to Rebecca

"Maybe we should just leave the two of them together!"

"No, I need him alive a bit longer Mark, we need some questions answered. You take April into the hallway and calm her down and persuade her not to do any permanent damage to our 'guest' here when I'm done with him. She usually listens to you!"

"I only listen to my partner when there's an 'A' in the month Rebecca, you know that!" April called out from the passageway.

"Oh, yes, I forgot, what is this month then?"

"July!"

"The only way it could be worse is if she's got PMT, so you should be fairly intact when she's finished." Grinned Mark.

"Think again Mark!"

"OH, hell, you're in for it mate, July and PMT!"

While the THRUSH was listening to all this, the colour was gradually draining from his face. He came to realise that these two women were not an easy target after all.

"You can always talk to me. I don't bite, unlike my other friend over there!" said Rebecca "Mark, do you have my cassette tape on you? I think we may need it to calm April down"

"Yes, it's here and I've seen a cassette player here too, you want to play it now?"

"With July and PMT I think April really needs it!"

Mark left the room and soon the tape was playing and a soothing, hypnotic voice started talking.

"I think 15 minutes should do it Mark, I'll stay and keep an eye on this one while you see if you can talk to April."

Mark and April knew what Rebecca was doing. The tape was playing to 'condition' the German, it was the way Rebecca worked. The only other people who had seen Rebecca interrogate was Napoleon, Illya and Mr Waverly.

Rebecca turned to the THRUSH and saw that he was listening to her voice on the tape. He was sat on his cot and his eyes were starting to glaze over, entering into a kind of hypnotic trance, Rebecca walked close to him and took her necklace off and started examining the locket hanging on it, it had an engraving on one side, a Celtic knot. The light glinting off it when she moved it caught Konrad's attention. She let the locket dangle and catch the light more, letting it swing gently, Konrad fixed his eyes on the swinging locked, unable to look away.

"It's pretty isn't it? I've always liked the way it catches the light."

Rebecca was speaking in a soothing and hypnotic way. The tape had finished now and her voice was clear in the prisoners head.

"It was a gift, given to me from someone who loves me very dearly, the pattern on the locket is a Celtic knot, it is a knot of love, it is never-ending, like the love of the person who gave me this."

Mesmerised Konrad asked "Who gave it to you? They must love you very much to give you something so beautiful."

"Yes, they do. My Mother gave it to me, many years ago, when I was about 7. It was the age where I always wanted to be good for my Mother, and told the truth. You would tell your Mother the truth wouldn't you? No one wants to upset mother by lying."

"No, I told the truth, didn't like mum to be upset. She loved me, I loved her, always told the truth."

"Good, now you are going to tell me the truth aren't you?"

"Yes, the truth."

"Why are you here?"

The interrogation had now begun. The THRUSH was under full hypnosis and would tell the truth. Under the hypnosis, the subject thought that they were a young child, full of innocence, answering their mother's questions. The questions they imagined they were being asked were innocent and in their mind the answers were simple enough; but in reality the questions and answers Rebecca was getting were more revealing.

The THRUSH didn't actually know that he was giving the Uncle agents all the information they could get from him and the real beauty of this form of interrogation is that they never knew that they had given anything away; and their 'drug resistance therapy' didn't have any effect. The only thing they felt when the interrogation was over was a feeling of calm as if they had fallen asleep and had just woken up, and of course there were no puncture wounds from injections, so they knew that there had been no drugs involved and assumed that no interrogation had taken place.


	6. Chapter 6

Act 6

Napoleon and Illya were halfway through the flight to Munich. Illya spent some of the flight studying the limited information on Konrad Reinhardt, trying to find any slight clue to what he was doing in Leipheim and why he would turn up at the Skunkworks.

Napoleon was sat in the aisle seat while Illya was next to the window. A dark haired stewardess came and offered Napoleon a pillow and blanket, Napoleon flirted with her and by the time she had gone he had her phone number and the promise of a date.

Illya gave his partner a disgusted glare and returned to his reading.

"Does she know that she is the fifth?"

"Ah, you're just jealous, tovarisch, I can't help it if they just want to please me. If you thawed out a bit, you would get some attention too!"

"I do not need the attention, thank you, I am quite happy as I am."

The Russian put the folder away and put his head back and closed his eyes.

"I would get some rest if I were you, I have a feeling it will be a long night."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, a few hours would help keep us more alert later."

"Mmm, I suggest that our first stop should be the airbase, we need to find out more about it."

"It'll be dark when we get there so we should be able to check it out without being too obvious; I presume you brought the night binoculars?"

"Of course, Napoleon!" Illya said with his eyes still closed.

He crossed his arms and settled into the seat making his point clear that he was going to sleep and within seconds, he was.

Napoleon smiled and shook his head, still marvelling after all these years how his partner could fall asleep instantly anywhere. He tried to follow suit and settled himself down and shut his eyes.

Just as he was about to drift off something wet landed in his lap and he instantly came alert and his hand automatically went to the gun in his shoulder holster. An auburn haired woman was bending down next to his seat picking up a cup from the floor

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Mr. err.."

Thankfully the blanket had absorbed most of the drink and he used a dry part of it to try and mop up what had gone through to his trousers as he replied to the woman.

"Solo, Napoleon Solo, not to worry Miss…?"

"Felicia Vogelsoor. I'm so sorry Mr Solo, I tripped and spilt my coffee down you, what must you think of me?"

"Don't worry Miss Vogelsoor, no harm done."

He thought about the dry cleaning bill he was going to have to face to remove the stain and grimaced.

"I'll dry out and, please, call me Napoleon!"

"Oh, okay, err, Napoleon. Please call me Felicia. Have you been to Munich before?" She sat in an empty seat across the aisle from the agent.

"No, I've been before; though this time, a friend is letting me stay in their house in Leipheim with sleeping beauty here for a while!" Indicating the sleeping form of Illya. "My friend and I are having a holiday, we've been working hard and need a break."

"Yes, I know Leipheim, my Mother lives there! I'm visiting her for a few weeks." She smiled "Maybe I'll see you and your friend around."

Napoleon was thoughtful "Yes, that would be nice, a friendly face in a strange place!"

Napoleon grinned "Sorry, I suppose I should introduce you, my sleeping friend here is Illya Kuryakin. Maybe you could help us, we don't know the town very well and wouldn't want to get lost. We have a car waiting for us at the airport, if we give you a lift maybe you could show us the sights?"

Felicia smiled "Yes, I'd like that, I know the town very well."

Napoleon studied the woman for a while as she talked, she was pretty and chatted quite freely about when she lived in Leipheim and how much she was looking forward to going back home for a while.

"Oh, look at me, I could talk all day, I must be boring you silly!" and she got up to leave.

"No, not at all, I'm quite enjoying hearing about the place, don't feel you have to leave on my account."

She sat back down and the two spent the rest of the flight talking. Shortly before the flight was due to land she got up.

"We're going to land soon, I must go back to my seat now, maybe see you later?"

"Yes, I'm sure we will." Smiled Napoleon.

"You really can't help yourself can you?" Illya said dryly opening one eye slightly and giving his partner an icy glare.

"I don't know how Lizzie puts up with you."

"She knows my flings don't mean anything, that they're just business."

Illya rolled his eyes, knowing he would never win.

Fifteen minutes later the flight had landed and they were making their way to the baggage claim area. After retrieving their bags they started to make their way to the car park to find the car that had been allocated to them when Felicia found them.

"Hello again, Napoleon."

"See, I said we would see each other again later!"

Illya fixed Napoleon with a glare when Napoleon proceeded to introduce him to the young lady. "Felicia, as you know, this grouchy person with me is Illya Kuryakin, Illya meet Felicia Vogelsoor."

"Good evening, Miss Vogelsoor." Illya replied

"Please call me Felicia, Napoleon has told me all about you, Illya. Can I call you Illya?"

He shot her an icy glare "Seems you already have."

Felecia turned to Napoleon as Illya walked out of earshot looking for their car "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, you'll have to ignore his moods, he's like that with everyone. I, on the other hand, more than make up for his tetchiness!"

Felicia laughed and arm in arm with Napoleon, hurried over to the Russian when he indicated that he had found their car. As they caught up with him he was checking the car over to make sure that it hadn't been tampered with or booby-trapped.

"Well, it's not quite what we are used to" commented Napoleon as he looked at the car. "Do you think it will get us anywhere, it looks about ready to be scrapped!"

The car was a 1965 Opel Rekord, it was a grey 4 door saloon and though not that old, it looked as if it had seen much better days, there were dents and scrapes along the sides and patches of rust showing through the bodywork.

"I guess The Old Man is getting fed up with your driving, partner mine! I get the feeling that the finance department have been complaining again!"

Illya threw his partner a chilly look, "If you did not always manage to get us chased, I would not keep damaging the cars we get. Anyway this one is safe, let's get going, it is nearly midnight and it will be a long drive to or accommodation in Leipheim."

Illya got in the driver's seat while Napoleon got in the back with Felicia and put her arm around her shoulder pulling her close. Illya glanced at them in the rear view mirror and bit back a retort, he knew it would do no good.

Although the car looked very rough from the outside, looks were deceiving. The engine purred like a dream, the car's engine, at least, was in excellent condition. The 2 hour drive to Leipheim went with no problems at all.

Once they arrived on the outskirts of Leipheim, Felicia gave them directions to the street where her mother's house was. The town was a typical Bavarian town with streets of whitewashed houses , reddish orange roofs and painted shutters at the windows.

They found the street they wanted easily with UNCLE's directions and the house they pulled up at was one of a few detached houses with a garden area at the front and a parking space round the back out of sight of the road.

Illya parked the car round the back and they both got out and entered the house with the key that was in the cars glove box. The house was two storeys, downstairs was a kitchen, dining room, living room and a downstairs bedroom. Upstairs was a bathroom and three further bedrooms.

The kitchen was well stocked and on seeing the food, they realised how hungry they were. While Illya took the luggage from the car and put it into two of the bedrooms, Napoleon made something to eat.

Illya sat down at the table as his partner dished out the food

"Thank you, I am starving. I have found a map of the area and the airbase is not far away from here."

"We should have a look tonight under cover of darkness and see what kind of security measurements are in place before turning in." Napoleon said stifling a yawn.

"If you had slept on the plane instead of chatting up anything in a skirt, you would not be so tired!"

"Maybe, but where would the fun be in that? Anyway I did try to, but got disturbed by our Miss Vogelsoor."

"Yes, well we will see about her, a little convenient that she is in the same town as us do you not think?"

"You're suspicious about everything Illya!"

"I have good reason to be" The Russian retorted "Seeing as I am usually the one who gets the raw end of your 'co-incidences'!"

After the two agents had finished their meal and tidied up, they dressed in dark clothing, picked up their night vision binoculars and a torch and set off for the airbase following the map. It took about 20 mins to walk to the northern end of the base.

The walked along the fence surrounding the base and found a good place to make a gap so they could get onto the base easily. Along the northern side there was a series of long three story buildings, the third floor being in the roof as evidenced by the dormer windows. Some were connected by shorter buildings, while others were in rows.

They followed these east until they ended and it was open ground. To the south was the runway and standing points for aircraft. In between the buildings and the runway were a few more scattered buildings and open ground.

In the Northwest area of the base were what looked like rows of 4 storey barracks and a recreation area with what appeared to be an oval running track and a baseball pitch.

There were only a few patrolling guards and they were easily avoidable. Napoleon looked through the windows of some of the buildings along the northern end, thinking that any offices would be more likely to be in these, while Illya kept a lookout.

"I can't see much, they look like mess rooms and storage rooms." Whispered Napoleon as he looked through the first few windows.

"Shh, get down. Company." Hissed Illya

He pushed Napoleon towards a prickly bush between two of the windows that he had just been looking through and crouched down behind it.

"Ow, couldn't find one a bit more friendly?" Complained Napoleon as he felt the thorns pricking his skin.

"Shut up or there will be bigger holes in your skin!" Growled the Russian quietly.

Two THRUSH guards walked by; guns slung over their shoulder and chatting happily, oblivious to the two agents hiding in the bush.

When the guards had gone far enough away, they finished looking through the windows, but could not see anything helpful. "I think it's time we went back home now, it's gone 3am and I for one am quite tired now, partner mine."

"Yes, I am in agreement. Lets go."

The two agents safely made it back to the house. Setting the security system, they settled down for the night, Illya took the bedroom downstairs and Napoleon took the bedroom at the back of the house upstairs. Within minutes the exhausted agents were asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Act 7.

The door to Konrad's cell was locked and Rebecca, April and Mark signalled to the camera that they were ready to leave the cell block. It was now 6.00pm the interrogation had been over an hour and they now had some information to work with.

The door was unlocked and they were met the other side by First Lieutenant Henderson.

"Ladies, gentleman, I have been assigned to you for your time with us. I have a vehicle at your disposal and have instructions to take you wherever you need to go."

He started to walk down the corridor.

"If you would like to follow me, I will take you to your rooms."

The lieutenant took the out of the building and walked across to another building opposite.

"This is the mess room, you are welcome to have your meals in here, breakfast is 08.00 to 09.30, lunch is 12.30 to 13.30 and dinner is 17.30 to 19.00. Tea and coffee is available at all hours and can be found here."

"We have managed to allocate you all accommodation in the same block, away from the base personnel , else it would have meant that you would have been accommodated separately as we don't allow mixed sex accommodation."

"Ok, that's understandable, thank you Lieutenant." Said Rebecca.

"Please call me Cody, Ma'am. I'll leave you with a walkie-talkie, that way you can contact me whenever you need me."

"Thank you Cody, if you're assigned to us, then, please, call me Rebecca and this is April and Mark. We don't stand on formality here."

The lieutenant showed them their accommodation and then left. They found their hold-all's already in their rooms which were sparsely furnished, there was a cot along one wall, with a wardrobe, a desk and chair on the opposite wall.

"Well, we've been in worse!" joked April "and I'll bet those blankets will be as scratchy as hell, I feel a rash coming on already!"

Rebecca and Mark laughed at the face April was pulling.

"Well, first things first" Rebecca said "I think it's time for something to eat, then we'll come back here and discuss what we have found out so far and what we will do tomorrow."

The other two agents agreed and they made their way back to the mess hall. The hall was noisy with the chatter of dozens of base personnel, they made their way to the serving counter along the far wall, a few heads turned and regarded them as they walked by and some of the airman wolf whistled at the women, both of whom bristled slightly, but kept their looks of annoyance hidden.

The food didn't look that appetising, but they were hungry enough that they would eat just about anything, and as April had commented earlier about their accommodation, they had had worse!

They went back and sat in Rebecca's room, April and Mark making notes of what they had found out so far. Konrad had confirmed that he had been sent by THRUSH to retrieve some plans for an experimental aircraft from the Lockheed Skunkworks site.

He didn't know exactly which aircraft they were for as he was supposed to make a pick up containing the information that would tell him where to find them. He didn't know who the contact was; just that he was told he would find the information needed to retrieve the plans at a pre-arranged time and location, all he had was a codename: XJ23-S. He had arrived a day early and was checking out the Skunkworks site when he was caught and then brought to Edwards.

April was thoughtful "Hmm, that could be a good clue XJ23-S, maybe a trip to the Skunkworks tomorrow is in order, someone there should know what this XJ23-S is."

"Yes, I was thinking along the same lines, we'll go after breakfast, we'll ask our shadow to take us over there. As I see it we have two things to find out: What this prototype aircraft is and why THRUSH is so interested in it and who the inside person is."

"Rebecca, I think you're right, hopefully Lockheed will co-operate with us. Come on April, let's turn in, we're going to have to be up early tomorrow."

"Good night, you two, see you in the morning." Rebecca said as April and Mark left her room.

Rebecca changed into her pyjamas and lay on her bed thinking about the day's events so far. The biggest clue they had to what they were looking for so far was the codename XJ23-S. She wondered if the letters and numbers actually meant anything or would give a clue as to what type of aircraft they were looking for. As for who was the mole, she didn't have a clue and wasn't sure how to find out. Sighing she turned over and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Act 8

Rebecca woke to a knock at the door, it was just gone 6.30am. When she opened the door she was greeted by April with a steaming hot cup of tea.

"Oh, lovely, just what I needed. You're up early, is Mark about yet?"

April laughed, "No don't be silly, he's still snoring his head off, either that or there's a bear in there!"

"I don't know how you put up with him when you have to share a room, April; it's bad enough in separate rooms!"

"Considering how quiet he is when we're sleeping in an unsecured place, he certainly makes up for it when we are safe!"

All agents were trained to sleep quietly when they had to stay in an unsecured location to minimise the risk of being discovered. Rebecca knew that both she and Illya sometimes mumbled in their sleep when they were in a secure location, but were otherwise silent.

The two agents sat in Rebecca's room sipping their hot drinks and talked and laughed about various things. After a while they noticed that the bear next door had stopped snoring and April went to get him a cup of tea while Rebecca got dressed and contacted Napoleon before going to breakfast.

"Open Channel F, overseas relay."

She heard a few clicks and then Napoleons voice came clearly through the pen shaped communicator. "Good morning Rebecca, it is morning there isn't it?"

"Yes Napoleon; we are going for breakfast in a minute, I'm just reporting in what we know so far."

"Okay, go ahead."

"I interviewed our guest, Konrad Reinhardt yesterday. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of information to give."

"Oh, even with your excellent skills?" She could see Napoleons raised eyebrow.

"I don't think he was holding back, I think he genuinely didn't know much. It seemed like he was only given small tasks, the first was a codename and some instructions to retrieve the information on where to find the documents and plans for the aircraft. I think he was also quite inept, not up to the usual THRUSH standards."

"That maybe why he was only given minimum information: in case he messed up." Mused Illya.

"Well, he messed up at the first step. He arrived a day early for the pick-up and was caught snooping around the Skunkworks."

"Oh-ho, THRUSH is not going to like that!" Snickered the Russian.

"Did he tell you where the pick-up was going to be?" enquired Napoleon.

"Yes, it was to be in a small communal garden area under some bushes. We checked and there was nothing."

"So, whoever was to do the drop, knew our friend had been caught."

"It would seem so Illya. The codename for the aircraft is XJ23-S. That's the only real lead we have so far. I don't know if the letters and numbers mean anything, whether they would give any clue as to what type of aircraft it is."

"As far as I know 'X' is usually used to denote an experimental aircraft, most have that as a prefix. The number is usually the version of that particular prototype design. The 'J' and 'S' I don't know, they could mean something, but could also just be a random letter." Illya explained.

"I don't know where you get all this information from, my friend."

"If you paid attention more instead of chasing skirts, you would know more too." The Russian threw back.

Rebecca could just imagine the look her boyfriend was giving his partner and smiled.

"We're going to have a look over at the Skunkworks today and see if we can find out what this aircraft is, we then might be able to find out why THRUSH is so interested in it."

"Okay, Rebecca, just be careful and report back when you can."

"I'll contact you at around five with what we find out."

"That'll be about ten here, okay, we'll wait for your report. Solo out."

Rebecca put the communicator away and went to see if April and Mark were ready for breakfast.

The agents saw Henderson who had been assigned to them in the mess hall and asked if he could take them over to the Lockheed instillation. He said he would meet them outside their accommodation after they had eaten.

True to his word, the lieutenant was waiting for them in one of the open army jeeps when they returned to the building they were staying in. April and Mark climbed into the back and Rebecca sat in the front next to Henderson.

The drive to the Lockheed works took just over an hour. Lockheed shared the area with Palmdale airport which occupied the northern end. The landscape resembled a desert with coarse shrubbery dotted around, the dark coloured roads cutting through the landscape. One area looked pretty much the same as another, and it wasn't a place you would want to get stranded.

As they neared the site, they passed by some housing estates and saw some green areas before passing back to the barren landscape.

They drove past Palmdale and turned left towards the Skunkworks. The site was large, there were two runways linked by taxiways. A few buildings were spread out along the top runway which was roughly orientated east-west this was the main runway for Palmdale airport. The second narrower, but longer runway ran roughly northeast-southwest and passed by the east end of the top runway. The Skunkworks was the group of building in the southwest area of the site. A wide taxiway led from the north end of the Skunkworks to the top runway.

They turned on to the Lockheed site and Henderson drove past a large hanger like building towards some smaller ones and pulled up in front of what looked like an administrative building.

They got out the jeep and followed Henderson into the building where he went over to the receptionist and introduced the three agents.

"Hello Heidi, this is Miss Andrews, Miss Dancer and Mr Slate. They are from the U.N.C.L.E." Cody smiled at the receptionist

"Oh, yes, we have been expecting them. Please Miss Andrews; if you and your colleagues could take a seat I will contact the Manager."

She indicated a group of comfortable looking chairs and then briefly spoke on the phone.

"Mr Petersen will be with you shortly." She risked a glance over to Cody and smiled.

"Do you want me to wait here or return to Edwards and pick you up later Miss Andrews?"

"If you could stay here please Cody, and it's Rebecca!"

"Yes, Ma'a… err Rebecca. I'll wait around here for you." Indicating the reception area and then walked over to Heidi at Reception.

"Something tells me he's quite happy to hang around here!" April commented nodding over to Cody and Heidi. Who were talking and laughing.

"Yes, isn't love wonderful!" Rebecca laughed.

"For those who find it maybe!" Pouted April.

"Aww, I'll always love you April!" Mark said

April pulled a face at her partner and he playfully thumped her.

"Well, that's gratitude for you!"

"Miss Andrews?" A tall dark haired man stood before them.

"Yes, Mr Petersen, I presume?"

"Yes, that's right. If you would all like to follow me, please."

They were led through a series of corridors and into a large office. It had photos of a wide variety of aircraft, some quite unusual looking ones, on the grey coloured walls. There was a large mahogany desk and a comfortable looking leather chair behind it. Some potted plants around the room provided the only colour. Petersen indicated some smaller leather chairs for the agents to sit in.

"How can I help you? I understand that you are looking into why our German friend is over here."

"Yes, he's known to us. I take it that you have heard of an organisation called THRUSH?"

"Yes, I have heard of them, he is a member of this THRUSH?"

"He is, although a low ranking one. He is a specialist in aeronautics and we are very curious as to why he is here in California."

"Have you managed to get anything from him?"

"Yes, we interviewed him yesterday. Rebecca is a trained interrogator and we got all that he knew."

"Which wasn't very much, as it turned out." Mark added.

"He was sent here to obtain some plans to a prototype aircraft. Can I ask what XJ23-S is?"

Petersen looked at Rebecca with a look of surprise.

"It's one of our recent secret projects, it is almost finished. I don't know how you know that codename. There are not many who know of its existence."

"Can you tell us more about it? It would help us to find out why he is here and what THRUSH is planning to do with it."

"I can, but I would need to get security clearance first as it's a secret project. If you could wait here I will see what I can do." Petersen rose and left the room.

"Well, this is interesting; did you see the look on his face when you mentioned that codename?"

"Yes, Mark you couldn't really miss it, I wonder what it is so special with it to be so secret." Replied April.

"What I'd like to know is if it is that secret, how come our German friend knew about it." Rebecca said.

After a few minutes Petersen came back in with an older man, he was wearing a military uniform unlike Petersen who was in a suit.

"This is Major Young. Major Young, these are the people from the U.N.C.L.E that I was telling you about, Miss Andrews, Miss Dancer and Mr Slate."

The Major shook each hand in turn.

"Pleased to meet you. I understand that you are requesting information on one of our projects?"

"Yes, Sir, namely XJ23-S."

"Yes, well I don't know how you have come across it, but it is a secret project, well should have been at any case."

He glanced at Petersen who looked away.

"What I tell you about this project is to remain between us. "

"Yes, Sir. I understand that, but I need to let my CEO know about it as well; as he and his partner are working with us on this. They are looking into the German side of this assignment."

"Very well, but it is to go no further, I would also appreciate it if you notified them about it while you are still here. I trust your communications are secure?"

"Yes, they are very secure. I have arranged to inform them of what we know at about 17.00."

"Okay, Miss, err Andrews. XJ23-S is the codename for Experimental Jet number 23 Stealth. It is a new kind of jet that will be completely invisible to radar."

"I thought we already had stealth jets that weren't visible to radar."

"Mr Slate, you are correct in that we have stealth aircraft, but they are not **completely** invisible to radar. Their angular shape reflects the radar signal away from the receiver so that they give a smaller signature; the problem is when it banks the panels reflect the radar signature perfectly. So even though they are harder for radar to see, they can still be easily detected if the conditions are right."

"Ah, ok, so I take it that this experimental aircraft is completely invisible to radar then?"

"Yes, that is correct. But there's more, the aircraft is also very difficult so see in the 'flesh' so to speak so that combat with it would be very difficult."

"I can see why THRUSH is so interested in this aircraft now." Rebecca said thoughtfully. "Would it be possible to see this aircraft Major?"

"I think I can arrange that for you. I will also provide a copy of the plans for the aircraft so long as you can guarantee that they will be kept safe at your headquarters or returned back to us when your assignment has been completed."

"Thank you Sir, I don't think a copy of the plans will be necessary, but if we could contact you regarding the aircraft if we find we need information about it would be helpful."

"Yes, I can authorise that."

"Thank you Major."

"Right then, Mr Petersen, will you accompany us please and lets show these good people our remarkable jet."

They left Petersen's office and walked through reception. Cody was still there, getting on remarkably well with Heidi. When he saw the UNCLE agents he went over to see if he was needed.

"Are you ready to go back now?"

"No, not yet Cody, we are going to look at something. "

Rebecca looked towards the Major and Petersen. "I don't think we will be leaving before 17.00. Is that okay?"

"Yes, no problem."

They left the building and walked past a large hanger like building

"That's where the aircraft are constructed. There can sometimes be 3 or 4 in there at a time. When they are ready for flight testing they are towed down this roadway and over to the runway at the northern end of this site."

"It's an impressive site Mr Petersen, are all the aircraft constructed here secret?" Rebecca asked looking around the facility.

There were a few aircraft parked around the site, but none that looked like her idea of an experimental aircraft.

"No, only a few a year are classed as secret, but all the aircraft you see around here are experimental."

"Some look familiar though, like I've seen some before." Mark commented.

"Some are aircraft that you may be familiar with, but with experimental components, for example, new flight controls, engines, control surfaces, things like that."

Petersen was clearly in his element, explaining things to the agents. He pointed out various aircraft and told them about their purpose at the facility, several had already completed testing and were being rolled out for production.

They came to a smaller building positioned at the end of a wide taxiway that led to the end of the runway. There were a couple of aircraft parked outside looking like sentries.

"These two are still undergoing testing, the one on the left is a jet fighter we are testing a new kind of flight control system on, the other is a V/STOL test aircraft called the Kestrel."

"V/STOL? That's a strange phrase." Rebecca said looking at the aircraft.

It had a torpedo shaped body with short swept back stubby wings. The nose wheel and main undercarriage wheels were on the centreline of the fuselage, to stop it falling over there were wheeled supports that dropped down from the wing tips.

"Yes, it stands for vertical or short take-off and landing, we are working with the Brits on that one. Very interesting aircraft to fly."

The Major had been quiet up to this point, letting Peterson chat to the agents, now that they were ready to enter the hanger he spoke up.

"Our aircraft of interest is in here. You may find it difficult to look at, but that is to be expected. I hope you will be as impressed with our XJ23-S as we are. She is scheduled for her third test flight tomorrow. I would like to invite you to see her in her natural element. Now ladies and gentleman, please follow me."

He opened a small personnel door and stepped through. In the middle of the hanger stood a remarkable jet. It was quite a large aircraft; the fuselage was a flattened torpedo shape, the edges of which seemed to flow into the wings. The engines were on either side, deep inside the wing roots, the cockpit was a tear shaped bubble towards the front and there was no tail as in most aircraft but two stubby fins that protruded at an angle to the fuselage. But the most striking feature was what it was made of.

The surface of the jet seemed alive, it moved, pulsated, squirmed. It was in all shades of black and grey and constantly moved. It made Rebecca feel quite nauseous and she had to momentarily look away to stop from retching. She noticed that April had to do the same, but Mark was fascinated by it.

"Sorry, it does tend to have a nauseous effect on some people. Here put these on, it has a dampening effect." Peterson handed the agents what looked like sunglasses.

Rebecca put them on and was grateful when the aircraft's skin stopped moving quite so much. "That's better thank you."

Mark walked around the aircraft admiring it "What is the skin made of?"

The Major smiled "What It's made of is classified I'm afraid, but I can tell you roughly how it works. It's concept was based on a chameleon. The surface absorbs some radar and as it's constantly shifting the signals that are not absorbed are bounced everywhere which makes it totally invisible to radar, so even when it banks, it is still not seen by radar."

April walked over to Rebecca "It's a shame Illya isn't here, He'd love this!"

Rebecca grinned "Yes, he'd be in his element!"

They finished looking at the aircraft and left the hanger. Rebecca and April were glad to be outside again, the aircraft gave them a strange feeling, like it was watching them. By now it was gone lunchtime and the agents were invited to have lunch with Peterson in his office. They asked about its flight capabilities and armament, possible range and whatever else they could think of, trying to work out why THRUSH were interested in this particular aircraft.

They also discussed how the information could have been leaked to THRUSH in the first place. There were very few who knew of the aircraft and it's stealth capabilities. They had eliminated the possibility of the leak being the staff that constructed the aircraft, their back grounds all checked out. Apart from the construction staff, the only other staff that knew about it at the Skunkworks were himself, Major Young and a handful of office staff, all of whom also seemed to check out ok.

Lieutenant Colonel Hays at Edwards knew about the aircraft as a couple of his pilots were used to fly the experimental aircraft when needed, but Petersen didn't know how their records were, the agents needed to speak to Hayes himself about them.

They spent the rest of the afternoon being given a tour of the rest of the Skunkworks which went quite quickly, Mark especially enjoyed the tour, though his main interest was in helicopters of which there was only one prototype testing a new kind of rotor blade.

When it was getting near the time to contact Napoleon and Illya with their findings, they made their way back to Petersen's office where their conversation would be secure and not overheard.

"Open Channel F, Overseas Relay and scramble please"

"Kuryakin here. Go ahead Rebecca."

"We've identified the aircraft that THRUSH is interested in, but as to why they want it, we still don't know."

"What kind of aircraft is it?" enquired Napoleon.

"It's a stealth bomber. It is still undergoing flight trials and is due for another test flight tomorrow."

"Stealth technology is not that much of a secret anymore. I do not see why THRUSH would be that interested in it to risk sending in Konrad Reinhardt."

"Illya, you've never seen anything like it! It is completely invisible to radar and even difficult to see when it is right in front of you."

"Completely invisible to radar? I thought that was not possible. As soon as an aircraft banks, it becomes more visable."

Rebecca knew that her lover's curiosity was now piqued.

"It has a special skin which does the job, it's very unnerving to look at. It sort of, well, it sort of moves, is the best way I can describe it."

"You say it's a bomber?" Napoleon enquired "how big a payload does it have?"

"It can carry sixteen 2,000lb bombs on a rotary launcher, thirty six 750lb bombs or eighty 5,000lb bombs on a bomb rack."

They heard Illya whistle, "That is some payload it has got there. What kind of crew does it have? "

"It has a crew of 4 to 6. The pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator and up to 2 operations specialist if needed. We are going to try and find out who the leak is, maybe that will help us to find out what THRUSH is planning. How are things going with you?"

"Slow, we haven't found out anything much, Napoleon has made a new friend who knows the area and is helping us."

"I presume this new friend wears skirts!" Rebecca grinned.

"Of course, what else would you expect with Napoleon!" replied Illya "But do not worry, she is not my type _vozlyublennaya! (Beloved_)"


	9. Chapter 9

Act 9

They didn't get up very early the next morning as they didn't get to bed until the early hours after their brief recce of the airbase the night before. They pottered round the house and studied the map that Illya had found, but it didn't have much detail to be very useful in regards to the base, but would be helpful for navigating around the town. They had lunch and decided to wait for Rebecca to report in before going to look around the town. They didn't want to go back to the base until dark again, they were planning to get into the first buildings and search the upper floors this time unless they found any other lead before then.

Just as they sat down for lunch a communicator beeped, Napoleon answered

"Good morning Rebecca, it is morning there isn't it?"

"Yes, Napoleon its 8 am here. We are going for breakfast in a minute, I'm just reporting in what we know so far."

"Okay, go ahead."

They discussed her interrogation of Konrad Reinhardt. He didn't know much of any use, and seemed to have messed up his assignment even before it really got started.

"Oh-ho, THRUSH isn't going to like that!" Snickered the Russian.

The only lead they had at the moment was a codename XJ23-S, but didn't have any clue to what kind of aircraft it would be.

"As far as I know 'X' is usually used to denote an experimental aircraft, most have that as a prefix. The number is usually the version of that particular prototype design. The 'J' and 'S' I don't know, they could mean something, but could also just be a random letter." Illya explained.

Rebecca told them that they were going to the Skunkworks to find out what they could about the mystery aircraft and would report back later.

"Okay, Rebecca, just be careful and report back when you can."

"I'll contact you at around five with what we find out."

"That'll be about ten here, okay, we'll wait for your report. Solo out."

Napoleon put the communicator away "Seems like Rebecca's getting somewhere now."

"Yes, at least they are having more luck than us, it will be interesting to know what kind of aircraft THRUSH have got their eye on."

"I presume they want the plans so that they can build their own version. We still need to find out why they are interested in it and what is being planned for it. Let's kill some time and have a look round the town."

They decided to walk to the town centre and found the walk in quite uneventful, THRUSH didn't seem to be aware that they were here yet. Leipheim was a typical Bavarian town with white buildings, red roofs and coloured wooden shutters at the windows. The centre was dominated by St. Vitus Church dating back to the 1400's. They walked around observing the daily life of the town, they paused at some of the shops that caught their interest and noted a few restaurants that looked inviting. They had stopped at a jewellery shop as something had caught Illya's eye when there was a familiar voice behind them.

"Hello Napoleon! So good to see you again… and you Illya. So what do you think of our little town?"

"Ah, hello Felicia, nice to see you too. It is a very nice town, we were just having a look around the old part."

"Napoleon, I'll leave you to your companion, there is something I want to get from in here." Illya said as he went inside.

"Okay Illya, we'll wait." He watched his partner enter the shop and then turned to Felicia "So what are you doing today?"

"Just getting a few supplies for Mother, she finds it hard to get around now, so I said I'd get the things she wanted."

"I suppose you know all the good places to eat around here then?"

"Yes, there are some nice places to eat around here 'Waldvogel' is my favourite."

Illya came out of the jewellers looking very pleased with himself.

"Well, looks like the cat has got the cream!" Smiled Napoleon.

Illya looked around puzzled "I see no cat with cream or otherwise."

Napoleon laughed "It means you look very pleased with yourself!"

The Russian rolled his eyes "Oh, more American slang! I am, I saw this and thought that Rebecca would love it."

The Russian opened a small black velvet covered box and inside was a small perfectly made, very finely detailed silver biplane charm on a delicate silver chain.

"It is lovely, this Rebecca is a lucky lady!" Felicia said admiring the necklace.

"I think it is more the other way round! Illya is lucky to have the lady. I'm surprised you remembered how to open your wallet Illya, not like you to splash out!"

Illya grinned "It wasn't so much; the exchange rate is very good at the moment!"

"Go figure!" grinned Napoleon "Are you hungry and before you ask, yes, I'm buying!"

The blond grinned "Do you really need to ask?"

"No, I suppose not, I already knew the answer. Come on." Napoleon put his arm out for Felicia to put her hand through and the three of them made their way to the restaurant recommended by Felicia.

"Waldvogel. An unusual name; translated it is 'Forest Bird'." Illya commented

"It comes from when the owners first settled here, they had a large pig farm in the forest before the main roads were built, the farm attracted lots of birds and people used to come to eat and drink here."

They found a quiet table in the garden and placed their orders. While they waited they chatted about various things and then Felicia mentioned about the air base

"Seeing that necklace you bought reminded me about the airbase here."

Illya and Napoleon looked surreptitiously at each other wondering where this was going.

"Oh, the airbase, yes we heard that there is an airbase here, is it still used?" Napoleon tried not to sound too interested.

"Yes, it is. My father used to work there when I was little; he used to take me with him sometimes."

"He's not there now then?"

"Oh no, he died a while ago. He used to be a scientist there."

"Scientist. On an airbase?" Illya threw a look at his partner.

"Yes, they constructed aircraft and some types of bombs there, he used to work in the labs; they were underground if I remember. It was near a large building next to the north side of the runway."

The food arrived and they all tucked into their meals, while the conversation moved on to other things, both agents were digesting the information about the airbase provided by Felicia.

Felicia excused herself briefly to go to the ladies room.

"Bit of a coincidence is it not, Napoleon, telling us about a lab on the base?"

"Hmm, isn't it? Just happens to be one of the things we are looking for."

"Do you believe me now? I think it is too much of a coincidence. Oh, and another thing?"

Napoleon sighed "Go on, what now?"

Illya grinned, enjoying this moment "Coming here and the name of this restaurant, it suddenly clicked. Her surname 'Vogelsoor' translates to 'Bird Thrush'."

Napoleon groaned "I think we need to keep an eye on her. "I think we will have to assume that she has been sent by THRUSH…."

"and they know we are interested in what is going on." The Russian finished.

"I think you're right, partner mine." He indicated to Illya that she was returning "Think she's just been speaking to her feathered friends?"

"Most probably."

They quickly changed the subject and Napoleon engaged her again in conversation. When they had finished their meal Napoleon picked up the tab and they left.

"Well, Felicia, it's been a pleasurable afternoon. I presume we will meet again sometime."

"Yes, that would be nice, I come to town most days, so I'm sure we will meet again the next time you're in town!"

The agents made their way back through the town, pausing at shops that took their interest, covertly making sure they weren't being followed.

It was late afternoon by the time they got back to the house, Illya checked the security before they entered. Once inside Napoleon poured some drinks, Scotch for himself and Vodka for Illya, it was still nice so they decided to relax in the garden.

"I think we will postpone our trip tonight, if Felicia is THRUSH, she will be expecting us to act on the information she gave us tonight."

"Yes, a prudent move I think, if she is not, it will not make much difference by not going tonight." Illya sipped his Vodka and closed his eyes. "Just don't tell Waverly that we have had a night off!"

"You won't find a mention of it in my report Illya!" Napoleon grinned.

Illya spluttered, nearly choking on his drink "The day you write our report, I think I will have it framed and mounted on our office wall!"

"I don't know what you mean, I wrote one the last time you came back unconscious!"

"Yes, you did, but did you know that The Old Man had me write it again when I was able to?"

"No, I didn't know that, Why?"

"He complained that your writing was illegible and that his three year old niece could write better than you!"

"See, the one time I do our report, everyone complains, now you see why I leave them in your capable hands!"

Illya opened one eye "_Da, imenno to, chto by vy delali bez menya?(Yes, just what would you do without me?)"_

Napoleon grinned "There's plenty I can do without your help tovarisch!"

The two agents took the rare opportunity to relax while they could before Napoleon went in and started to prepare dinner, they chose to eat outside making the most of the warm evening, after clearing away, they played one of their favourite word games, Superghost.

"I'll start with 'H'"

Napoleon enjoyed trying to out think his partner "Okay add 'T' before."

"'A' after"

"'E' before."

Illya thought for a bit "So we have got 'E.T.H.A' Okay add 'Q' after"

"I could think of a few before you added the 'Q'. I think you're bluffing, come on give!"

"Methaqualone" Illya said grinning.

"That's the trouble with you scientists, always cheat with impossible scientific words, how am I supposed to get a chance?"

"I'll choose a non-scientific one next time, something simple for you!"

"What is Methaqu… what ever anyway?"

"Methaqualone, it's a sedative-hypnotic drug. Rebecca would know it!"

"Well, I'm not surprised, seeing as she deals in hypnotics!"

"You start then!"

Just as Napoleon was thinking of a new word the communicator beeped. "10 already?"

"I'll answer, give you time to think!" Illya smirked reaching for the communicator "Kuryakin here. Go ahead Rebecca."

"We've identified the aircraft that THRUSH is interested in, but as to why they want it, we still don't know."

Rebecca told them what she knew about the stealth bomber.

"Illya, you've never seen anything like it! It is completely invisible to radar and even difficult to see when it is right in front of you."

The Russian was surprised at this news, he had never thought that an aircraft could be completely invisible and he wanted to know more, but that would have to wait until he could see the files for himself.

"We are going to try and find out who the leak is, maybe that will help us to find out what THRUSH is planning. How are things going with you?"

"Slow, we haven't found out anything much, Napoleon has made a new friend who knows the area and is helping us."

"I presume this new friend wears skirts!" Rebecca grinned.

"Of course, what else would you expect with Napoleon!" replied Illya "But do not worry, she is not my type _vozlyublennaya! (Beloved_)"

"I should hope not Kuryakin, I don't think a rival for your affections would fair very well against me!" Rebecca laughed "I'll report in again tomorrow morning, lunch your time. Andrews out. _Spokoĭnoĭ nochi, lyubovʹ moya (Goodnight, my love)"_

"_Spokoĭnoĭ nochi, serdtse moe (Goodnight heart of mine)"_


	10. Chapter 10

Act 10

The rest of the evening back in California was uneventful. Rebecca, Mark and April left the Skunkworks after speaking to Napoleon and Illya. They arrived just in time to have dinner in the mess hall before retiring to their accommodation for the evening discussing their plans for the next day.

They had arranged with Petersen and Major Young to return back to the Skunkworks to see the XJ23-S make her next test flight which was scheduled for 11.00. Rebecca also wanted to speak with Lieutenant Colonel Hays before they left to try and see if they could find out who the leak might be.

April again brought tea to Rebecca's room the next morning; the two agents enjoyed their early morning gossips before they were joined by their colleagues.

Rebecca had contacted UNCLE late last night, trying to find any possible lead on personnel at Edwards base that knew about the Skunkworks secret projects.

There were not many from Edwards who knew of the projects and the names she did have (which she had obtained from Major Young and Petersen) didn't seem to have anything flagged up as suspicious.

"So how's it going Becca?"

"I don't know April, I can't seem to find anyone with anything even remotely linked to THRUSH. I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall."

"Maybe Hays would let you look through the personnel files here? There could be something in them that isn't known to UNCLE"

"Mmm, maybe, if he'll give me clearance."

"You could always get Waverly to pull strings if he refuses."

"I'd rather not do that if I can help it, they only just tolerate us here now as it is."

"True."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door followed by Mark letting himself in. "Don't you two ever go to bed?"

Rebecca grinned "Only when there is a certain Russian in mine!"

April groaned "Yes, but I bet you don't do much sleeping!"

"We do….. eventually!" Rebecca laughed.

"Enough of your night-time habits Rebecca!" said a blushing Mark "Are we getting breakfast this morning?"

"Yes, come on let's go, I am hungry." April said as she linked her arms through Rebecca and Marks' and they proceeded to make their way to the mess hall.

After they had breakfast, they went to see Lieutenant Colonel Hays.

"Ah, good morning ladies and gentleman. How are we progressing?"

"We are gradually getting the information we need Lieutenant Colonel Hays, there are just a couple of loose ends that we need to tie up."

"That is good to know. If I can help in any way, you just need to ask Miss Andrews."

"Thank you, we know which aircraft THRUSH is interested in, but we are still trying to find the contact in the hopes that it will lead us to the mastermind of this little escapade."

"Your interrogation of our Mr Reinhardt hasn't revealed that information then?"

"No, unfortunately he didn't know the identity of his contact." Replied April. "It would help us if you could provide a list of personal who know anything about projects at the Skunkworks please Sir."

"Yes, I can do that for you Miss Andrews, I will have them ready for you in about 10 minutes."

"Thank you. I will come back in 10 minutes then."

The agents left the office and walked over to where Cody was waiting to take them back to the Skunkworks in the jeep. "Are you ready Miss Andrews?"

"It will just be April and Mark Cody, I'm stopping here for the moment, I have some research to do. I will contact you through April when I need collecting."

"Okay, Ma'am, I hope you find what you're looking for. I'll be ready to collect you any time Miss Andrews.

"Thank you Cody" Rebecca turned to April and Mark. "I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."

"Okay Rebecca, be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Rebecca laughed. "Besides I don't think I can be in a safer place than this, surrounded by all these big strapping air force guys!"

"Oh ho, don't let your Illya hear you say that!" laughed Mark.

April and Mark got in the jeep and Cody sped off, taking them to the Skunkworks. Rebecca wished that she could have gone with them, she would have loved to see the aircraft fly, even if it did hurt her eyes. She watched them go and then made her way back to Hayes office.

"Ah, Miss Andrews. I have the files you requested. I have assigned the room next door to you. I thought you may prefer the privacy."

"Thank you Lieutenant Colonel." She followed him to the room that had been provided for her. A large stack of files were on the table.

"If you need anything, you just need to ask."

"Thank you." She said as Hayes left the room shutting the door behind him.

Rebecca sat down and looked at the stack of files in front of her. She sighed as she thought of the boring task ahead of her and wished now that she has assigned this to either April or Mark. She decided that she would contact Napoleon first. "Open Channel F please."

"Napoleon here. Good morning Rebecca."

"Hello Napoleon, not much to report at the moment. How about you?"

"We think that our new found friend could be a member of the feathered variety, she seemed eager to mention that there was a lab on the base."

"Oh, that's interesting, so any idea where this lab is located?"

"Only a vague idea, we are planning on having a look tonight. What's your plans for today?"

"Well, I am at this moment in a small room at Edwards and looking at a large pile of paperwork, while Mark and April are on their way to the Skunkworks to see our prototype jet put through a test flight."

"Ahh, well, you know how I feel about paperwork, so I don't envy you there! What's the paperwork for?"

"I'm going through the files of all personnel who have contact with the Skunkworks to see if I can find a link to THRUSH."

"Okay, well if you find anything, let me know."

"Yes, will do. I'll contact you again tonight. Andrews out."

She picked up the first file and started to read through it. Markus Kendry; he was a pilot and was one of the regulars who were required to fly some of the aircraft from The Lockheed works, though mostly ones that had been modified rather than experimental ones. He had been at Edwards for over 7 years and had a glowing record, there was no mention of anyone in his file connected to any THRUSH they knew. She closed it up, put it to one side and took the next file.

After she had gone through 10 files, she contacted Records at HQ giving them the names of the personnel to see if there was anything in their files there. There wasn't.

She repeated the process with another 10 files, also with no results. She sat back and looked at her watch, 2 hours had passed. 'God, this is going to be a long job' she thought.

She went to find a cup of coffee and took it back with her. And went through the rest of the files, after another 2 and a half hours, she had gone through all files, but there was nothing she could find to link any of them to THRUSH. She sat back and sighed. She then realised that she didn't have the Lieutenant Colonel's file. She got up to go and request that she see his file.

She knocked on Hayes' door. "Come in" he answered.

Hayes looked up as she entered "Miss Andrews, please sit down. Have you found anything?"

"No Lieutenant Colonel, they all seem to be clear."

"Ah, that is good. What are you going to do now?"

"Actually, I came to ask to see your file sir, it wasn't included with the ones I had."

"No, I am afraid that I cannot allow that Ma'am."

"I am sorry, sir, but this is an important investigation and I really do need to see your file."

Hayes was becoming angry at Rebecca's insistence. "I have said that you cannot see my file. That is final. I do not care how important your investigation is, my file is classified."

"I am sorry sir, but I can't accept that." And Rebecca stormed out.

She went back to her assigned quarters, a bit uneasy with Hayes outburst, it seemed suspicious that he refused access to his file so vehemently. "Open channel D, Waverly please."

"Waverly here. What can I do for you Miss Andrews?"

"I have been checking personnel files at Edwards who have regular contact with the Lockheed instillation."

"Yes, I am aware of that Miss Andrews. Nothing has been turned up I understand."

"No sir. But there is one file that I am having difficulty in obtaining permission to see."

"Oh? Whose is it, Miss Andrews"

"It's Lieutenant Colonel Hayes, Sir."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. I will contact you in a few minutes. Waverly out."

Rebecca disconnected her pen communicator and waited for The Old Man's return call. After 10 minutes her communicator beeped.

"Andrews."

"Miss Andrews, Mr Hayes has now been ordered to allow you to see his file. I don't think he is going to be too happy about it, so I would watch your step."

"Yes Sir, Thank you. Andrews out."

She returned back to Hayes office.

"Sir, I believe I now have permission to view your file."

He was fuming and practically threw the file at her.

"I do not appreciate people going behind my back Miss Andrews. I can make your stay here very unpleasant for you, you know."

"As I told you before, this is an important investigation and for me to carry it out to the best of my abilities I need to see everything to do with it. That includes your file as you also have regular contact with the Lockheed facility."

"I would have thought that with my position, I would be beyond suspicion."

"Sir, no one is beyond suspicion, not when THRUSH is involved." And she walked out of his office to the room allocated to her.

The stacks of files were still on the desk from earlier. She moved them to the side and started to read through Hayes file. There were some names of personnel mentioned in his file that she the files to on her desk, but there were also some names that she didn't know. She contacted Records at HQ again to see if there was any information they had on these new names.

This time she hit paydirt. One of the names was a known THRUSH operative. Hans Vogelsoor was connected to Reinhardt and was a weapons scientist at Leipheim. 'Bingo' thought Rebecca. "Open channel F, Dancer please."

"Dancer here, found anything Rebecca?"

"Yes, but I can't say here. I will meet you there in a couple of hours, please send Cody to collect me. I'll tell you then."

"Okay, Becca. Cody's here and has heard you. He's already on his way. We'll see you later. Dancer out."

Just then her door was flung open and Hayes stormed in.

"I'm sorry, I overheard you in the corridor. Why did you have to insist on seeing my file? It would have been much better for you to have accepted my answer. Now I'm afraid I am going to have to deal with you"

He signalled to someone standing outside the door and two heavy built guards entered and grabbed Rebecca by the arms, she struggled to get free of their grip, but they held her tight. Hayes smirked

"Take her away, I'll deal with her in a minute." And he left the room.

She had to move quickly, she bit one on the hand and he quickly let go shaking his hand as she pulled her arm free

"You bitch!" he shouted.

She punched the other guard in the face with her free hand and his nose pored with blood, she took her chance and ran for the door only to be stopped by Hayes throwing a punch to her stomach as she came round the door doubling her over.

"Get here Garcia, Lopez. Can't you two do anything right."

The two guards took Rebecca again and dragged her to the cell block and put her in the cell next to Konrad. Konrad saw her dragged past and sneered at her.

"Well look who's come to join me, got in a little over your head eh?"

Rebecca didn't look or pass any comment. She was thrown into the cell and they roughly searched her. They took her communicator, knife and gun and chained her to the wall by the bed before locking the door behind them as they left.

"Enjoy your stay!" Garcia and Lopez laughed as they walked away.

Rebecca sat on the bed cursing herself, she knew that it would be hours before April and Mark would know that something had happened. Cody would be back at the base to pick her up within the next hour, but would he think that something was wrong when he wouldn't be picking her up. She only hoped that he would realise that something was not right and would inform April and Mark quickly. As she was thinking about things, the door opened and Hayes and his goons walked in.

"Well, I know you have found a connection between me and THRUSH. It's too bad for you though, I know THRUSH would like to get their hands on you, they have grown quite interested in you."

"I'm sure they have, but they won't learn anything from me."

"Well we can see about that can't we? I have been allowed to 'soften' you up, it's not often we get UNCLE agents in our humble little establishment; and don't think rescue will be coming any time soon. I know Cody is on his way here, but he will find that you have left with another driver and by the time your two colleagues know it will be too late." He sneered "Hang her up and get her ready, I will be back in a minute."

The two goons took the chains from the wall, they removed her blouse and threw it on the bed before hanging her from the ceiling, leaving her hanging with her feet just touching the floor.

Hayes returned, just as they had finished, carrying a whip in his hand. He walked around her an evil glint in his eyes; he ran the whip over her body.

"such a fine body, it's almost a shame to spoil it!"

"Only almost?" Rebecca replied.

The comment earned her a blow to her back, she gritted her teeth.

"That the best you can do?"

"You are a lippy one aren't you! Now, tell me what you know."

Rebecca didn't answer and he landed a few more harder blows on her back.

She still refused to answer him or to cry out and he beat her across her lower back

"Answer me!"

Rebecca looked at him and smiled not letting the pain she was feeling show.

"Playing the silent game are you? I don't think you will hold out for long before you cry, I always believe that women are too weak for this kind of job!"

"I suppose you think we should be at home cooking and looking after children!"

"That's your proper place, not trying to live in a man's world!"

He hit her a few more times, she could feel blood trickling down her back,

"I will make you cry before long"

He leered at her, enjoying inflicting pain on her, he knew she was hurting, but he was annoyed that he couldn't get her to answer him or make her cry out. He caressed her body with the whip.

"Maybe Garcia and Lopez might enjoy trying to get something from you. They are, how shall I say, a bit heavy handed? Not quite so gentle as me I'm afraid!"

He walked around her, touching the wounds on her back with the tip of his whip. She sucked in her breath and bit her lip. Trying not to make a noise.

"But, of course if you want to avoid their way of doing things, you only have to tell me what you know. I also want to know who else is involved in your assignment."

Rebecca laughed, "You know who: April Dancer and Mark Slate, is your memory that short?"

Another blow landed across her shoulder blades, warm blood flowing down her back 'shit, that one's going to be deep' she thought, chewing her lip to stop herself making a noise.

"You know what I mean, I know you are reporting to someone else. Who is it and where are they?"

"Sorry, don't know what you mean."

"I think Garcia and Lopez may loosen your tongue."

He turned and left the room. She sagged in the restraints, the cuffs digging into the flesh on her wrists, blood trickling down her arms.

Within moments the two goons came in leering at her, one had the whip and the other a leather strap.

"Boss says we can have a bit of fun with you!"

"Oh, goodie, I can't wait!"

Rebecca replied sarcastically while thinking 'I've been with Illya so long his habit of tormenting captors is rubbing off on me'.

"Looks like the boss has had a bit of fun with her already" he said as he saw her back.

He proceeded to hit her hard with the belt a few times leaving burning trails across her back.

"Don't say much does she? Try her with your whip"

Garcia approached Rebecca, pure evil showing in his eyes making her cringe.

"My turn now eh? I'm going to make you loosen your tongue!"

He held the whip and cracked it across her back so hard that she thought she would be cut in two, she she felt more blood ooze down her back, he cracked it several more times, each time she found it harder not to let out a scream.

She wanted to curl up and cry, her back was burning, but the best she could do was to try and use her own hypnotic talents to try and shut out the pain and discomfort as much as she could. Her head drooped down, no longer having the strength to keep it up and could see her blood dripping on the floor around her feet. The whipping and beating with the strap was relentless; finally a moan escaped her lips just as blackness overtook her.

She woke up and it took her a while to remember where she was and what had happened, she was lying on her side on the bed, her blouse had been put back on and it felt stiff and rough against her sore back. Her back was throbbing, she moved slightly and cried out from the intense pain, it felt like her whole back was on fire, she tried to calm herself down and block out the pain by self-hypnotising, it helped… a little.

She looked down on the floor, a bowl of soup had been left by the bed, she tried to sit up, trying not to cry out in pain, it took her 10 minutes just to do a simple job of sitting and retrieving the bowl of soup. She drank it down, it was only luke-warm, but she was grateful for the moisture, her throat was so dry.

She didn't know how long she had been out for, our how long it had been since Hayes had gotten her. She looked around the room and her eyes lingered on the pool of blood on the floor before moving around the room, she couldn't see a way out, even if she could find the strength to try to get away, she knew she had lost a lot of blood by the way she felt, the pool of her blood proved just how much she had lost. She hoped that April and Mark would find her. She lay back down on the bed on her stomach, trying to block out as much of the pain as she could as she moved to try and get as comfortable as she could. Exhausted she fell into a restless sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Act 11.

April and Mark arrived at the Skunkworks about half hour before the test flight. They met again with Petersen and Major Young.

"Good to see you again Miss Dancer, Mr Slate. Where is your Miss Andrews?"

"Thank you for your invitation Mr Young. Rebecca will join us later, she is still trying to find who the inside person is."

"Yes, it would be good to know who is feeding this information to outsiders Mr Slate. I will look forward to meeting Miss Andrews later then."

"Well, then are we ready to see the test flight?" Petersen asked.

"Yes please, it's a shame that Rebecca will miss it, she would have loved to see it fly." April replied

"Maybe next time then, eh?"

"That would be good."

The agents, Cody, Petersen and Major Young walked across to the hangar housing the XJ23-S. The jet was sat outside the hanger, it almost blended into its surroundings. Technicians busily checked over every part of it. Outside in the daylight, the skin didn't seem to hurt their eyes so much. Mark commented on this.

"The skin sort of absorbs the light and with it being outside it blends itself to the surroundings." Petersen tried to explain.

Just then April's communicator beeped. "Dancer here, found anything Becca?"

"Yes, but I can't say here. I will meet you there in a couple of hours, please send Cody to collect me. I'll tell you then."

April looked over at Cody, he nodded and started back to the jeep, "I'll be about an hour."

"Okay, Becca. Cody's here and has heard you. He's already on his way. We'll see you later. Dancer out."

She looked over at Mark, "Looks like we might be getting somewhere at last."

"Yup, hopefully. It's going to be at least a couple of hours before she gets here though."

Major Young spoke up "you will keep me informed won't you?"

"Yes, of course Major, as soon as we know anything, we'll let you know." Replied Mark.

They looked over to the jet and saw the pilot climbing up the access ladder located under the nose of the aircraft just behind the nose wheel, closely followed by the co-pilot. Soon after the whine of an engine starting broke the silence, a few seconds later another engine started followed by the remaining two. Gradually they got louder as they began building up power and then held steady.

There were a few hand signals from the ground crew and then the access ladder retracted and the door closed sealing the pilots inside. The ground crew gave a final signal and moved out the way. The jets engines increased in power a bit more and slowly and gracefully it moved forward, swinging round to line up with the long taxiway to the end of the runway.

"Well, I think we are all ready for the test flight, Lady, gentlemen, if you don't mind getting in the jeep, we'll follow the jet to the runway and watch from there."

"Thank you Mr Petersen. I'm looking forward to this."

They all climbed into the jeep and followed the retreating aircraft at a safe distance, keeping far enough away not to get blasted by the jets engine exhaust. As the jet moved, it seemed to absorb the colours around it; the colours swirling around in the skin, blending it into its surroundings. You really had to look at it to see it and that was something that was hard to do.

The jet reached the end of the runway and the jeep turned off onto another taxiway and drove to a hard standing, parking up facing the runway so that they had a good view of the full length. They were given some glasses to enable them to see the aircraft easier before the jets engines increased in power and the whine turned into a scream as it sped down the runway and gracefully leapt into the sky about two thirds of the way down. They watched as it gained altitude steeply before levelling out and banking to the right. They followed it as it flew around the perimeter of the airfield.

"Try watching it without the glasses." Suggested Major Young.

April and Mark removed the glasses and the aircraft virtually disappeared, they could just about see it by noticing that there was 'something' distorting the sky, a bit like the effect you get when you look at something through a magnifying glass from a distance. They put the glasses back on and the aircraft became clearer again.

"How will other pilots see the aircraft, friendly's that is, will they have to wear glasses like these?"

"A good question Mr Slate, in effect yes. The lenses are just plain glass that have a special coating on them. If this aircraft goes into production, our aircraft and those of our allies will have their cockpit windows coated with the same substance, enabling the pilots and crew to see the aircraft."

"Ah, I see."

They watched the jet through a series of manoeuvres before coming in to land, a brake chute trailing behind slowing it down before being released and falling onto the runway. It taxied down to the end of the runway pausing at the end before turning onto the taxiway and heading back towards its hanger. The jeep made its way to where the brake chute was lying on the runway, the driver got out and gathered it up before stuffing it into the back of the jeep and then driving back to the jet. When they got there, it was already parked up and the engines were winding down, soon a deafening silence returned and then then the crew access hatch opened and the ladder extended before the pilots climbed back down.

"Please excuse me. I need to debrief the pilots and get their evaluation of today's test flight."

"Yes, of course Major. Thank you for inviting us, it was very enjoyable."

"Yes, a very interesting aircraft, it is a shame that Rebecca missed it, she would have enjoyed the display." Commented Mark.

The agents walked back towards the offices with Petersen.

"I thought Miss Andrews was joining us" said Petersen

"It is about time Rebecca was back isn't it April, it's over two hours since Cody left to collect her."

"Yes, I thought she should have been here by now, we'll give her a few more minutes, then I'll contact her."

They went to Petersen's office and he poured them each a coffee. They chatted about the aircraft and the flight for a while, after 10 minutes there was a knock on the door and April breathed a sigh of relief now that Rebecca had finally arrived.

Petersen called for them to enter and the door opened, but it was only Cody that stepped through the door.

"Where's Rebecca Cody?"

"Err, when I went to collect her, Lieutenant Colonel Hayes said that she had already left. He said that he sent her here with another driver so that she didn't have to wait for me to collect her. Is she not here then Miss Dancer?"

"No Cody, she is not, we haven't heard from her since you left."

"Oh, I wonder what has happened to them then."

"I'll contact her, see if we can locate where they are. Open channel F, Andrews please."

There was some static from the communicator, but no answer. April tried again.

"Open channel F, Andrews please." There was no answer. "Rebecca come in please."

Still there was only static and no answer from Rebecca. April looked towards Mark.

"Something's not right, there is no way she wouldn't answer if she was able to."

"I agree April, something's wrong."

April looked to Cody and Petersen

"Is it possible that the jeep could have gone off the road somewhere and they are stranded?"

"It is possible I suppose, there are many different routes between Edwards and here, they could be anywhere; it's a big area to search." Petersen replied.

"I'm going to see if HQ can put a trace on her communicator, maybe we will be able to locate her with that. Open channel D, Communications please"

"Communications, How can I help Miss Dancer?"

"Hi Sandra, can you put a trace on Miss Andrews communicator please?"

"Yes okay, just a minute." The channel went quiet for a few minutes then she came back "I'm sorry April, her communicators not broadcasting."

"Okay, thank you Sandra."

"Before you go April, Mr Waverly wants to speak with you."

"Okay Sandra, thank you."

"Miss Dancer, your report please."

"Yes Sir. We have discovered the aircraft that THRUSH is interested in and have notified Mr Solo and Mr Kuryakin. Mr Waverly, we think also Miss Andrews has gone missing. "

"Okay, thank you Miss Dancer, does Mr Solo and Mr Kuryakin know of this development?"

"No, we have not informed them yet, I was going to after finishing this call."

"Negative Miss Dancer, do not inform them yet. Keep looking for her."

"But sir, they should know about this development."

"No, Miss Dancer, that is an order."

"Okay, yes sir. April out."

April was unhappy about not being able to inform Napoleon and Illya, she knew they would be mad when they eventually found out, especially Illya.

"We need to try and find her Mark."

"Agreed, Mr Petersen, do you have a helicopter we can use?"

"Yes, I'll clear you for it, you can leave it at Edwards and it can be collected tomorrow."

"Thank you sir."

Half hour later the two agents were flying over the area searching for any sign that Rebecca had been on her way to the Lockheed instillation or of any evidence that a jeep she could have been travelling in had gone off the road. After over two hours they found nothing. It was gone 10pm by the time they landed at Edwards, with no sign of Rebecca at all.

"I don't like this Mark. It's like she's just disappeared into thin air."

"I know, think we should go and see Hayes?"

"Yes, I think we should."

They made their way to his office, but it was empty and in darkness.

"I think we should check the cells."

"You don't think that she could be in there do you?"

"No, not really, but we need to check just to make sure, if we can get in."

"Yes, you're right, if she has been in there, there might be something left behind."

They went to check the cells, but the door to them was securely locked when Mark tried the handle. April pulled out some explosive putty and pressed it into the lock, then standing back detonated it with her watch.

They opened the door and entered the cell block, all the rooms, except for Reinhardts, were empty. They shone the torch into each of the rooms and in the third room noticed a dark stain on the floor.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, I think so April, do you think it's….?"

"God, I hope not, Mark, there's a lot there."

They retreated from the cell block and after finding some sandwiches in the canteen, made their way back to their rooms.

"I don't like not letting Illya and Napoleon know about this, Mark."

"They're not going to like it when they do find out."

"I only hope we're still over here and they're still over there when they do find out!"

"Yes, I rather like being in one piece! I think considering that something happened to Rebecca, we should stay together tonight. I'll take first watch, you sleep."

"Sounds good to me. Are you going to make the report to Waverly?"

"Yes, Though there isn't much to report. Open channel D, Waverly please."

"Waverly here, any progress Mr Slate?"

"No, sir, we searched for Rebecca, but there is no sign of her so far. We have found a cell with a large amount of blood on the floor, but don't know if it belongs to her. We will continue looking tomorrow. Slate out"


End file.
